Contraception and other medication - This is a serious post

[ShipsWoofy]

I know some might get the giggles at the back, but I am asking a group of adults who may have experience of obtaining medication in and around the Med.

We are hoping to cruise down and live for as long as we feel before possibly moving on. Does anyone have experience of getting Depo injections in non UK clinics. Is it expensive or free like the UK.

I need Co-codamol is this available over the counter without prescription? Or, can I buy it say in France or Italy with a British prescription?

I intend to travel back to the UK periodically to visit my consultant, (don't ask /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif ) but SWMBO will probably remain with the dog and boat as I intend to only drop in for a few days.

I understand about living away and using the NHS, but I will have a house here and be paying UK taxes.

The biggest problem or question is regarding contraception, I know the ladies in other countries obviously have access, but is this open to visitors without a permanent address.

Please PM if you are uncomfortable answering this in a public forum.

 

[snowleopard]

In 2001 you could buy almost anything over the counter in Spain, often cheaper than the UK prescription charge. That included e.g. antibiotics. In French territories the rules are similar to the UK. Sorry I can't help on your specific items.

 

[jeanne]

Here in Spain you can buy almost any medication at the Farmacias. They are very helpful and keep a directory of UK trade names for various drugs as they are often different here. If you know the generic name for a drug, it is very easy. As Snowleopard says, it is often cheaper than a UK prescription. As for injectables, if you know what you need, you can buy the drug , syringes etc at the same time, and inject yourself or find a friendly nurse/doctor aboard another cruising boat to do the deed. However, there are some things that aren´t available here. I have the occasional need for a steroid injection into a joint, and the stuff used in UK, which includes anaesthesia, isn´t used in Spain. The alternative was very painful (I have a GP friend who is cruising here to do the job and we went to the pharmacy together to find the drug. Being of a certain age, I don´t know about contraceptives, although they are widely used here(!). Hormone replacement therapy is available, although it is necessary to order it and in the case of the combined pill, come as two seperate drugs, so you need to know the correct dose. As for your specifics, medical treatment under the E111 is only for emergencies, but you can make an appointment, and pay, for any other type of specialist without a docors letter, if you know who you need. Best to find one who speaks English if you aren´t fluent in another language. I had cataracts done in Portugal where there are more English speakers than here in Spain(and at half the price of UK in an exceedingly up to date clinic).

Hope this helps, and good luck with your plans.
Jeanne

 

[roly_voya]

If you are remainig elegable for NHS treatment it might be possible for your GP/consultant to do repeat prescriptions via the internet and post/currier service in the event of problems abroard, at least as a backup. Also look up some of the internet pharmacies which might be able to do the same but will charge. Most of the oral drugs you mention have a long shelf life (2-3 years) so you can carry a large stock of some and top up when returning to the UK but for anything containing paracetamol you will need to arrange collection from the pharmacy as there are safety considerations.
Can't find a shelf life for depot injections and as you say this is the one likely to cause problems. Have you talked to you presciber about alternative routes and if it is possible to change this to an oral dose? Also might be worth getting a letter in local langauge explaining the prescription if you are going to require abministration in a local clinic abroad.
Further advice is probably available it is just a case of finding it! Try asking you local practice nurse, they do inoculations and health advice for travellers so may have sources of info for this. If all else fails you could try a query to the relevant british embasy/commission who should be able to find out.

Hope this helps

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Thank you all for this advice.

Is there any way I can find out what is available prior to leaving rather than sucking it and see when I get there.

Does anyone know of a list per country of available medications?

 

[snowleopard]

[ QUOTE ]
If you are remainig elegable for NHS treatment it might be possible for your GP/consultant to do repeat prescriptions via the internet and post/currier service in the event of problems abroard, at least as a backup.

[/ QUOTE ]

When we pushed off for a year our GP said the NHS would support us for 6 months then we were on our own so he gave us 6 months worth of repeats. We stocked up in Spain for the rest of the trip.

I'm not sure of the validity of that 6 months as I've not heard it elsewhere. Of course you could get a private prescription for longer and pay market price for the drugs. At worst it would be worth coming home to re-stock every 6 months!

 

[Metabarca]

Italy: they tend to be quite strict about prescription drugs here (at least in the north). As to a British prescription being accepted here, dunno, but perhaps: all the pharmacists I have met have been very helpful and knowledgeable (they're highly trained here) and have big directories where they can look up equivalent products starting from a drug name. I'll ask next time I pop in.

 

[dedwards]

If you are planning on stocking up in Spain, it may be worth checking out Gibraltar's system. I don't know about primary care but they have a brand new hospital and there was no paperwork to see a doctor when my other half knocked herself out a few weeks back.

 

[sailorgirl]

Our old GP quoted 6 months to us but only after we arrived back and found that 1 (out of 3) family member was no longer registered with them after 18 months away! Before we left the surgery had happily produced 1 years worth of repeat prescriptions.

 

[Metabarca]

I've checked with my local pharmacy here in Trieste. He says that in theory prescription rugs can only be given out on an Italian prescription, but in practice, as long as you can appear bona fide foreigner in a fix and not out for a fix (as it were), there were be no problem. At least with him.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Thank you for that, quite interesting. I guess it might be a case of finding sensible chemists.

This has been a fantastic response from everyone, thank you, it has given food for thought and helped me when it comes to asking the right questions.

You would think, while we are playing EU that is should be the same as nipping into my local boots here. I do wish they would get this sorted out, rather than squabbling over who gets to play prez.

 

[CodStewart]

Wow! I didn't realise the NHS had such rules. I'd been living in Japan for 12 years when I became seriously ill with a tumor. I went back to the UK for 3 months and had the op on the NHS. Couldn't believe it myself at the time. Thought I'd end up on the hit list of folks who saw me as a scrounging scoundrel. Must say a big thank you to the NHS. They did a fine job.
This is kind of unrelated to this post but just wanted to add my two-penneth.